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Murcalus Arthandas
"People ask me why I chose the Order of the White Jayhawk to represent, when there are far more martial paths I could have followed. Knowing my history, and how entrenched in blood it is, one would think that Philisteenja would not have been my first choice for a faith to follow. But, I would retort with 'Who, but a man who's life has been filled with battle, a man with a history of blood and shadows, a man who has lost much and has taken much from others, needs Mercy the most?' It is not simply a need to represent my Lady's ideals that drove me to my Order. It was a need for Mercy itself. I serve, because I found that Mercy, that peace, and therefore seek to deliver it to others." Description Murcalus stands but 5'10" tall, with a slender build and light frame, though carries himself as if he were much taller. He is a man many woud regard as handsome, (though certainly not supernaturally so,) with long blue-black hair that is most often worn in a tail at the back of his neck and crystalline blue eyes that are shared by near all of his bloodline from the Tallis-Shei side, though due to wounds during the Second Godswar they were permanently scarred and therefore his sclera are forever bloodshot. His pale skin is marred by many a scar, including a peppering of freckle-like burns across his cheeks, that makes it appear as if he has freckles. Further, he bears a number of intricate Rune-tattoos on his body, augmenting his already superior prowess with the dual Indarium blades which he wears on his person. As a result of the optical damage (as well as a side effect of one of the Rune-tattoos) Murcalus is forced to wear thin, silver-rimmed tinted glasses or goggles, as he was left photosenstive and as adverse to bright lights as many Tallis-Vyss are. A side effect as well, has left him unable to generate tears normally, due to an endoskin that covers his tear ducts. When he is moved to tears, this endoskin will sometimes burst, leaving bloodied tears streaming down his face uncontrollably until the ducts scab up agian. Murcalus wears a number of symbols on a sash across his person for official occasions. The symbol of the Hand of Vyss, the White Feather of Mercy, the Crossed Golden Swords of the Arthandas family, and the Foxhead of House Volpe all adorn this sash, marking his devotion to all of these things. His weapons are seldom not with him, as they are sacred to him. The first on his right hip is but a sword hilt of Indarium and Hirsalis wood, fashioned to look like a branching Hirsalis tree growing atop a small globe that appears to be a map of the World That Was. When activated, Samyherin, the Lost Light bears a blade of divine radiance, and 'sings' High Asyndi Hymns long forgotten to this world. On his left, he wears an Indarium High Asyndi Runeblade - Kalish, the First Blade, a weapon that he strives to complete. Lastly, he oft as not wears Elyona, The Black Wind, an artifact of his family's which traces back to before the Caclysm of D`Mir. Personality Murcalus tends to be calm, patient and kind. He tries his best to understand different points of view, and offer advice when he can. Though it was not always the case, he is slow to act violently, and strives to find peaceful (or, at least non-lethal) solutions to problems, at least with regards to mortals. Even with Xosian, Lythian and Niraethian demons, he tries to offer a degree of understanding, as he's known some demons to be fairly benign. That being said, if they strive to bring harm to others, he is more than happy to defend the innocent and do what needs to be done. His greatest flaw, however, is his pride. He is proud of his family, his bloodline, his Shei heritage, and his own accomplishments. This can, from time to time, cloud his judgment and make him act in ways some think are out of character for him. This was most evidenced in a chain of events that through his proud behavior, he became indebted to a Reaver of Tashalasheeri, a debt he's still yet to have entirely satisfied. History Like his siblings, Murcalus grew up in his mother and father's home in Tal`Rah, spending much of his youth in his mother's orchards there. He was fond of all of his siblings, but grew up closest to his youngest sister Lauryl, and the pair were always in no small amount of trouble. Both were carefree, spirited youths and this extended into adulthood, at least until the disappearance of their eldest sibling. Both set on seperate ways to seek him, and for Murcalus this brought him to Tashran, where he learned to survive on the streets using only his quick wits, light hands, and loose morality. Though he doesn't discuss much of his time in Tashran, one thing is for certain - he fathered a child with a Tashrani woman. He didn't remain long enough in the city to raise the child, though, and he soon left to Brynmere Glade, where his eldest brother, a younger brother, and his youngest sister could be found. It was here he learned of the death of their father, Michael, to natural causes. Shortly after arriving there the trio departed, as the troubles that were plaguing the area were dealt with. A year they spent together, before recieving a call to the ruined Shei City of Am-Xitha by the Arcanium, to assist in using the Edge of Dreaming Hotel as a base of operations to stage a rebellion in Moonfall. Murcalus only remained for a time, assisting in clearing the ruins and making them livable, including the Am-Xitha School of Magic, where one of the spirits that roamed there became enraptured by him. It was shortly after this that he disappeared, to clear his mind and his heart of a lot of the heaviness that weighed down on the man with regards to the death of his father. It was some months before Murcalus returned, after the Peasant's Rebellion and deposing of Tolliver Grimshaw. This was when he discovered the death of his eldest brother, as well as some of the friends he had gained over his time with the Heroes of Am`Xitha. It was at this time he became involved in the Second's Godswar, serving as a spy, swordsman, and infiltrator for Duke Blackthorne. At this time Murcalus was in a very dark place, after having lost so many he cared about - including another of his siblings, Senya, who filled his role after he was critically injured on an operation at the Screaming Halls. This was a death that he did not take well, as he always felt a sense of personal responsibility for her loss. Had he not failed, in his mind, she would have still been alive. Murcalus assisted in the operations to defeat the Avatars of Synri, Siru, and Xzahol, and was present for the fall of all three. It was in preparing for this that he acquired Samyherin, The Lost Light from the Temple of Uruk the Litigator in Niraeth, which was a critical turnng point in his life. Unbeknownst to him, this ancient weapon from The World That Was had permanently altered his mortal coil, and he was drawn to seek the path of a Crusader. In choosing this, he became reunited with his lost daughter, though her mother was forfeit in this, saving the girl's life from the Endless Night that had overtook Imarel. At this same time, he found another child, an Asyndi, who in his grief at the loss of his sister Senya he likened to her, and adopted the child. For the next five years after the Second Godswar, Murcalus served as a Guardsman for Am-Xitha, eventually becoming a Watch-Captain, while studying the edicts of Mercy, and eventually becoming a full Knight of the Order of the White Jayhawk in Vyss. Further, he was wed to the Spirit he had encountered in the School of Magic, who had attained and used a Flesh Doll as a vessel. It was shortly after this he became involved in the War of the Benefactor, spending a great deal of time fighting on the front lines and battling the Xirath. During this was he was present for the destruction of the World-Gate at Meluah, and as a result members life prior to the alteration to reality that the destruction and subsequent utterance of First Words heralded. This event resulted in the return of his once-dead brother, who departed the family and took a new name. After the War of the Benefactor, Murcalus came in the possession of the hilt of Kalish, the First Blade, which fused with a blade owned by a Reaver of Tashalasheeri and Ambassador of the Draconic Empire. This resulted in a confrontation between the pair, that resulted in the Ambassador's angry departure, offended by the Crusader's behavior. A Spectral Knight appeared to Murcalus shortly after, condemning him for his pride and warning him of his actions, and how they might result in Murcalus' fall. He further charged him with righting the wrong, by indebting himself to the very Reaver he offended on her own terms, and upon completion of this was promised Braen, the Scabbard of Light. At the conclusion of the War of the Benefactor, after leading the party which initiated the Mercy killing of Khazyr, Murcalus began his quest to right the wrong he had done, travelling to the Draconic Enclave on foot, with no protections from the elements and only his swords and bow to hunt and forage for food along the way. He arrived to the Empire in the clothes of a pauper, and approached the Ambasador with humility and respect, apologizing for his actions, and striking a deal with the dragonoid - a blade for a blade, a scabbard for a scabbard. Only then would the Knight return to his quest to restore Kalish, and free the Spectral Knight from his torment. Murcalus became a travelling companion to the Reaver, when her duty did not restrain her to the Enclave. The pair still meets even to this day, to continue their entwined quests. Murcalus has recently taken a squire, as well, though the identity of the girl is currently unknown. Category:Player Characters